[python-committers] Requirements to get the "bug triage" permission?

[R. David Murray]

On Wed, 06 Dec 2017 18:11:44 +0100, Victor Stinner <victor.stinner at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ok, thanks Ezio and David. I completed my list:
> https://github.com/vstinner/cpython_core_tutorial/blob/master/core_developer.rst#bug-tracker

s/loose/lose/

I would say your list comprises the skills for the "ideal triager" rather
than "good triager", since I think someone can be a good triager without
being and expert in a *all* of the skills you list in that section.
I would expect a triager to develop facility with all those skills,
but not necessarily to have them before they get granted privileges.
(I'd say the second, fourth, fifth, and last are more or less
the minimum to start with, although I'd drop the "which files should
be updated to fix the issue" for that minimum set.)

> My initial question is to know if bug triage permission can be seen as
> a first "award" / "badge" to recognize that contributions of someone
> are useful. Contributions can only be made of code pull requests, or
> another "project" tightly coupled to CPython like the documentation,
> the development workflow, etc.
> 
> My problem is now that the list of requirements is very long. It's
> like you should already practice triage for weeks before being seen as
> ready to get the triage power.
> 
> So do you think that it's bad idea to use triage as an award? Or is it
> just a matter of adjusting requirements?

Yes I think it is a bad idea to "use it" as an award.  It is not an
award, it is a functional set of privileges.  It *can be* part of the
on-boarding process for a contributor who eventually becomes a core dev,
though, and in that path it functions as an award of sorts.

> I have a few people in mind that I would like to give them triage
> permission, but I don't know that they contributed much to the bug
> tracker. I don't expect them to be active on the bug tracker neither.

It they are not going to be active on the bug tracker, why do you want
to give them triage permissions?  If they haven't been active at least
a little bit on the bug tracker, how do you know they are good candidate
to be a triager?

What do they need the privileges for?  I'm not necessarily saying they
shouldn't get them, I want to explore the why in order to inform this
discussion.  But, if you just want to give it to them as an award and
for no other reason, I'd vote no.  If you want a badge to give them,
maybe we make up a badge ;)

--David